Soil tester



Sept. 9, n. R. MALsBuRY SOIL TESTER Filed May 16, 1929 2 Sheetksheoi 1 Sept. 9, 1930. M. R. MALSBURY SOIL TESTER vFiled May 16, 1929 2 Sheets-:Sheet 2 @sa Q '@QQSQ @TQQQQQQQn @d m @SQQQQbQS I lk/tumulto.

Patented Sept. 9, 1930 MARSHALL R. MALSBURY, F RANTOUL, LLINOIS SOIL TESTER Application led May 16, 1929.

This invention relates to a device for use in testing soils and is primarily for determining soil acidity.

'One of theobjects of the invention is to provide a simple, compact, and efficient strncture in which can be placed specimens of soils taken from different parts of a field or other area, the said` device having combined with it a means'for gaging the amount of soil test-ed, 1G the amount of reagent employed7 and the relative conditions of the different portions of Asoil tested. f,

Another object is toprovide a device of this character in which the different specimens willbe tested uniformly, all of them being subjected not only to the same quantity of reagent-but also being subjected to a uniform agitation and to a uniform settling period. I 'Nith the foregoing and other objects in y view4 which will vappear as the description proceeds,l the invention resides in the coinbination and arrangement of-parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described y and claimechit being understood that changes in the precise embodiment ofthe invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope ofwh'at is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention. l v Y In the accompanying drawings the pre- I ferred form of the invention' has been shown. In said drawings, Y Figure 1 is a top plan view of the testing deviee,j` several parts thereof beingv broken away so that a portion of every part is shown in plan.

Figure y2 is a section on line 2-2, Figure 1, said section being taken through the complete device,y the bottles being in elevation.

* v Figure 3 is an end elevation of the device showing the upper and lower portions separated.

I Figure i is atop plan view of the soilgage member. v Referring to they ligures by characters of referenceel.designates a tray that can be formedv of sheet metal or anyother suitable material, the ends of this tray being provided with upstanding tongues f2 to which may be s secured a fastener member comprising a pivoted lever 3 having a loop 4 extending there- Serial No. 363,704.

from. On the bottom of the tray may be arranged a lining' 5 of fiber, wood, metal, paper, or the like, adapted to support a combined bottle holder and soil gage block 6. This block can be formed of wood or other desired material having openings 7 therethrough each of which is adapted to receive the lower portion of a bottle 8.

The several bottles 8 are adapted to rest on the bottom of the tray 1 or on the lining 5 carried thereby. Block 6 is held against lateral or longitudinal displacement by the walls of the tray but can be lifted readily from the tray. The upper surface of the block 6 is preferably provided with numbers or other characters indicated at 9 for designating the different openings 7 in which the bottles 8 are seated. These openings 7 may be disposed in rows and one or more rows can be designated by a title such as Subsoil while other rows can be designated by other titles such as Top soil although this latter designation would not be essential if the designation Subsoil is used with some of the openings.

lRemovably mounted on the gage block 6 isa reagent gage block 10 formed of wood or other suitable material and having openings 11 therein adapted to register with the openings 7. For the purpose of facilitating the positioning of the gage block 10 around the upstanding bottles 8, the lower ends of the openings l1 are preferably flared as shown at 12. This gage block 10, which is formed of metal, wood, or any other suitable material, is adapted to be employed to indicate the proper level to which the reagent in the bottles is to he brought while preparing for a test.

ln connection with the parts thus far described there is provided a cover 13 formed of sheet metal or any other suitable material in the form of an inverted tray having end tongues 14 adapted to be inserted downwardly between the tongues 2. One of these tongues 11i has ay slot 15 extending thereinto from its lower edge adapted to receive a pin 16 extending from one end of the gage block 10. Thus proper assembly of this block with the cover 13 is insured.

tongues 2, the said lugs will engage the fastening members on the tongues 2 and beengaged by the loops 4. lThus by moving the levers 3 downwardly the loops 4 will draw the cover 13 toward the base 1.

Cover 13'is provided with a lining 18'in the form of a pad of soft rubber or the like of such thickness that when the cover 13 is drawn toward the base 1 `as explained, this pad will press against and close the `upper ends of all of the bottles 8 as shown particularly in Figure 2.

In practicethe user makes a chart of the area to be tested and indicates thereon the different points from which surface soil and subsoil is to be removed. These different points can be designated by numbers corresponding with the numbers appearing on the upper surface of the gage block 6. Thereafter portions of the soil are removed from the points designated and placed in bottles 8 provided therefor. The soil when thus taken should be in such condition as to pulverize readily in the hand but at the same time have a small amount of moisture therein.

`After the soil taken from different points in the ield or other areahas been placed in the properly designated bottles, said bottles are struck lightly so as to cause the soil to gravitate. It is essential that the top surface of the soil in each bottle be on a level with the top of the gage block 6. After this step has been completed the gage block 10 is placedonthe block 6 and enough reagent is placed'in each bottle to bring the level thereo-t' to the top of the block 10. It is essential that all lof the bottles contain Athe same amount Vof reagent. Thereafter the cover 13 is placed in position with the cushion 18 resting on all of the bottles and finally the cover 13 is drawn to the bottom 1 by means of the fastening devices. Thusall of the bottles will be' sealed.

The device, after being filled and prepared as explained, is agitated for two orV three minutes and then allowed to stand for aboutv eiglitminutesor longer. This will give the solid matter in the-several bottles a chance to settle, thereby to leave a clear liquid in the upper portion ofeacli bottle. Coverl?) can then beremoved and the gagefblock 10 is also lifted from position. By then examining the contents of the different bottlesit can be determined readily, by the color ofthe reagent, the degree of acidity of the specimen of soil ineach bottle.

In making ar soil test itisvessential `that the same amounts yof soilbe usedin, the test of each portion of the field. For this reason the gage block 6 is used. s It is also essential that the same amount of reagentk be lused in making each test. For this reason the gage block 10 isvused. By providing the cover with its sealing cushion that can be drawn tightly against all of the bottles to close them, the entire device can beV shaken so as to thoroughly agita-te all of the bottles simultaneously, to the same extent, and for the sanijelength of time. Furthermore, by having all of the bottles used in the collective test, seated in a single device, they will all be allowed to stand and settle for the same length of time. From the foregoing it will be seen that the final resultas determined by inspection of the reagent will be conclusive, and proper comparisons can be made between the soil takenV from dierent area. f

. It is to be understood that any desired number of thicknesses of materialsuch as indicated at 5 can bensed for adapting thisdevice for use with bottles or othercontainers of different lengths. f f

lVhat is claimed is:v

1. -A soil testing device including a soilA amount of a reagent used in each bottle,r`

means extending over all of the bottles for sealing them, and means for connecting said sealing means to the bottle supporting means thereby to permit agitation of the entirel device Vwithout accidental separation of thev parts. Y I

v2. A soil testing devicel including a base, ay soil rgage blockcarried thereby having 'bottie-receiving openingssuitably designated, a'

reagent gage block having bottle-receiving openings and adapted to rest upon the soil ygage block, a cover for sealing the bottles,

`rand means for holding the cover to the base, thereby tok permit agitation of the device without accidental separation of the parts.

vA soil testing device including a base, a soil gage member carried by the base and having bottle-receiving openings,a reagent gage' member removably mounted on the soil gagemember and having bottle-receiving openings, said openings being flared downwardly, and means for holding the 'bottlesvv Afixed relative to each other and with their ends sealed to ypermit simultaneous actuation .fof all ofthe bottles without accidental displacement relative to eac-h other.

4. A soil test-ing device including abase, aV soil gage elementcarried thereby and having v Y openings for the reception of containers, areagent gage member adapted to rest upon Ythe soil gage element and having openings for 'the receptionl of said containers, a coveracusfhl ioning pad carried 'by the cover for engaging the openends otcontainers in the openings,Y

thereby to seal said container, and means for binding'the cover to the base and fastening it, thereby to hold` the containers firmly in the gage members and against relative displacement during actuation of the device.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto axed my signature.

MARSHALL R. MALSBURY. 

